CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

                HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 4423

                        54th Legislature

                      1996 Regular Session

Adopted by the House March 5, 1996 Speaker of the        House of Representatives Adopted by the Senate March 7, 1996

CERTIFICATE I, Timothy A. Martin, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 4423 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth.

President of the Senate

Chief Clerk

Approved Place Style On Codes above, and Style Off Codes below.

FILED

Governor of the State of Washington

Secretary of State                        State of Washington

                  _______________________________________________

                         HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 4423

                  _______________________________________________

                     Passed Legislature - 1996 Regular Session

State of Washington              54th Legislature             1996 Regular Session

By Representatives Johnson, Brumsickle, Radcliff, Cole, Quall, Talcott, McMahan, Hatfield, Thompson, Mulliken, Sheldon, Smith, Stevens, Clements, Hargrove, Sterk, Beeksma, H. Sommers, Wolfe, Kessler, Elliot, K. Schmidt, Lambert, Silver, Casada, Carrell, Chandler, Sherstad, B. Thomas, Crouse, Buck, Pelesky, Cooke, McMorris, D. Schmidt, Hymes, Mastin, Mitchell, Huff, Fuhrman, Goldsmith, Blanton, Delvin, Cairnes, Hankins, Sehlin, L. Thomas, Honeyford, Carlson, Backlund, Mason, Linville, Conway, D. Sommers, Scheuerman, Romero, Ogden, Brown, R. Fisher, Cody, Murray, Costa, Tokuda, Regala and Dickerson

Read first time 3/5/96.

Requesting the governor to declare the Year of the Reader.

     WHEREAS, Reading is a basic life skill and the foundation for all future learning, and students need to graduate from high school with adequate reading skills; and

     WHEREAS, Teachers, parents, educators, librarians, state-wide education associations, literacy councils, local school districts, business, higher education, and educational service districts are interested in promoting ideas with regard to the effective teaching of reading; and

     WHEREAS, The world is moving into a technological-information age in which full participation in education, science, business, industry, and other professions will require increasing levels of literacy; and

     WHEREAS, Research clearly shows that children read better if they are read to at home, encouraged to read in their free time, and when their parents value education, and students need to be encouraged to spend considerably more time reading than watching television; and

     WHEREAS, There is a documented connection between illiteracy and juvenile crime; and

     WHEREAS, There are many state-wide education organizations that plan to focus their attention on the teaching and learning of reading; and

     WHEREAS, A state-wide focus on literacy will result in improved instruction state-wide and create an atmosphere that fosters a love of reading;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the House of Representatives of the state of Washington, the Senate concurring, That the House of Representatives and the Senate respectfully pray that the Governor of the state of Washington declare 1997 as the Year of the Reader; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution be immediately transmitted to the Honorable Mike Lowry, Governor, and to the Honorable Judith Billings, Superintendent of Public Instruction.

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